Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra located in Buffalo, New York. Its primary performing venue is Kleinhans Music Hall, which is a National Historic Landmark. Its regular concert season features gala concerts, classics programming of core repertoire, Pops concerts, educational Youth Concerts and family concerts. During the summer months, the Orchestra performs at many parks and outdoor venues across Western New York, with Classics, Pops, opera and ballet offerings at Artpark on the Niagara Gorge in Lewiston, New York. Cameron Baird, Frederick Slee, and Samuel Capen founded the orchestra in 1934. (Baird's and Slee's names now grace the two buildings which house the music department at the University at Buffalo, while the university's main administration building is named after Capen.) The BPO first performed during the 1935–1936 season under music director Lajos Shuk, and moved to Kleinhans when it opened in 1947. Past music directors have included William Steinberg, Josef Krips, Lukas Foss, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Semyon Bychkov. During Foss's tenure, the BPO was considered the world leader in performance of 20th century symphonic music. The current music director is JoAnn Falletta, the orchestra's first female music director. Her current contract in Buffalo is through the 2011–2012 season. Matthew Kraemer is the current resident conductor. The orchestra also performs under the baton of Paul Ferrington, who leads the orchestra in many community sponsored events at Kleinhans and throughout Western New York. Other celebrated conductors who have led the orchestra include Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sir Neville Mariner, and Henry Mancini. Doc Severinsen was the resident pops conductor in the 1990s. Another notable BPO pops conductor was Marvin Hamlisch who is best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, A Chorus Line. Actor Sorrell Booke also conducted the orchestra on at least one occasion. The orchestra has recorded extensively. Under Steinberg, the BPO performed a critically acclaimed recording of Dmitri Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony. Under Falletta's ship, the BPO's recording program has focused on American composers for the Naxos label, including Frederick Converse, Charles Tomlinson Griffes, and contemporary compositions, including the first commercial recording of John Corigliano's Mr Tambourine Man which received two grammy awardsGrammy award winners search in 2009. The orchestra can also be heard in the soundtrack to Woody Allen's Manhattan (film). Music directors * Lajos Shuk (1935–1936) * Franco Autori (1936–1945) * William Steinberg (1945–1952) * Izler Solomon (1952–1953, conductor-in-residence) * Josef Krips (1954–1963) * Lukas Foss (1963–1971) * Michael Tilson Thomas (1971–1979) * Julius Rudel (1979–1985) * Semyon Bychkov (1985–1989) * Maximiano Valdes (1989–1998) * JoAnn Falletta (1999–present) Concertmasters *Jan Wolanek (1935–1940) *Joseph Wincenc (1940–1941) *Max Miller (1941–1961) *Laszlo Steinhardt (1961–1964) *Isidor Saslav (1964–1966) *Albert Pratz (1966–1969) *Charles Haupt (1969–2006) *Michael Ludwig (2006–present) External links * Official site * Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks * SUNY Buffalo link to Buffalo Philharmonic page, performing archive * Join the Staff References Category:Musical groups established in 1934 Category:Culture of Buffalo, New York Category:American orchestras Category:Economy of Buffalo, New York fr:Orchestre philharmonique de Buffalo he:התזמורת הפילהרמונית של באפלו ja:バッファロー・フィルハーモニー管弦楽団 ru:Филармонический оркестр Буффало